Key members of the livable streets movement were gushing as Comptroller (and mayoral aspirant) Brad Lander unveiled his "Green Light for New York City" transit and transportation plan in the Village yesterday.
Naparstek was there! Orcutt was there! Doug Gordon was there! Miser, too!
And Lander himself biked to the event, which tends to warm our cockles.
You don't need me to assess Lander's full plan for you — you can read it right here — but the most-attention-grabbing proposal is to somehow turn all of the New York area's myriad transportation modes (the bus, the subway, the ferry, Citi Bike, etc) into a unified, Transport for London-style system that Lander calls "Big Apple Transit."
The campaign gave the Daily News an advance look at an idea that has been floated a lot. And, honestly, unless Lander wins the June 24 primary — the idea, and some of Lander's other plans for better subway service, is not really worth a deep dive.
But I went up to Astor Place Plaza anyway to kick Lander's tires a bit. Turns out, there's way more to Lander's 21-point plan than just that single, and probably silly, idea to "wrestle control of the subway and bus systems from the state-run MTA and place them under the mayor’s purview," as the News put it.
So let's focus on the many livable streets ideas Lander is championing that a mayor can actually accomplish.
He wants:
- He wants to "relaunch" Vision Zero so that we "actually get to the zero" through reauthorizing the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program (which Mayor Adams allowed to expire) and adding staff to the Department of Transportation.
- He's calling for a "dramatic expansion of high-quality protected bike lanes and missing greenway links across the city," which included a promise at yesterday's presser to not "cave in response to one phone call from" real estate interests, as Adams did when he delayed or killed safety or transportation plans on Ashland Place and Fordham Road, among many others.
- He wants to expand public space and promises to (hold onto your MetroCards!), "pedestrianize Fifth Avenue, the Financial District, and parts of downtown Brooklyn."
- He wants to crackdown on placard abuse — "it ends on my watch," he said.
- He'll make outdoor dining in the roadway a year-round program.
- He reiterated his prior (and similarly lauded) reform ideas for delivery workers and for public space management.
Which reminds me: Lander is but one of several candidates who are putting livable streets at the center of their campaigns. So how can you tell them apart? Starting on Friday, we'll be rolling out the candidates' answers to our eight-question survey. Want to hear Zellnor Myrie address reckless drivers? Don't know where Zohran Mamdani stands on parking reform? Forgotten what Scott Stringer believes about e-bikes?
This series is for you! It all starts Friday at a Streetsblog homepage near you.
In other news:
- Speaking of Gordon and Naparstek, it's never too early to pre-order the forthcoming War on Cars book, "Life After Cars" (co-written by Sarah Goodyear).
- Not to be outdone, Assembly Member (and mayoral aspirant) Zohran Mamdani also has a plan to help undomiciled people in the subway. (Gothamist)
- There will be more Metro-North service in advance of a possible NJ Transit strike (NYDN). The Times and Gothamist focused on Jersey.
- The Times waded into the QueensLink vs. QueensWay vs. QueensNay debate.
- As we mentioned yesterday, Amtrak is going to repair the East River Tunnel and cut some New York-to-Albany service and also hurt the Long Island Rail Road. "An unlikely alliance of MTA leadership, Democrats and Republicans" blasted the plan, the Daily News reported (as did Gothamist and amNY)
- Cops really always are on their phones. (Hell Gate)
- Bus fare evasion continues, but the MTA is also continuing a pilot program to reduce it. (NY Post)
- The Post was equally skeptical of the MTA's plan to save $3 billion.
- Very conservative radio host Frank Morano won the special election to succeed Joe Borelli on the Rock. (City and State)
- In fairness to Gov. Hochul, we vegans have lots of substitutes for eggs (whipped aquafaba, anyone?). (NY Post)
